China’s “clean” trash-burning plants have a dark underside. Stuffed with coal, many operate like fossil-fired power stations, only more laxly governed.

Xie Yong could be called a pioneer. He is one of very few to date to sue a Chinese government agency over its unlawful refusal of requested data. His crusade for change has little to do with civic altruism, however. Xie’s struggle is personal in nature, his actions forced by desperation. He has been battling his son’s paralysis-causing epileptic seizures and mounting health care costs since 2010. His son’s condition, Xie believes, is the result of toxic emissions from an incineration plant near his home.Read the rest of this entry »

Following a presentation I gave at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars’ China Environment Forum on Energizing China’s Waste last week, I was quite pleased to see these two articles surface on the topic:

China’s leading waste-to-energy developer, China Everbright, has received more than US$200 million vis-a-vis Asian Development Bank’s commitment to funding companies with above average environmental goals. It’s a great idea on paper. However, flaccid environmental reporting standards in China and worrying trends in the incineration sector reveal a moral hazard in international institutions’ move to capitalize the private sector. Growing segments of China’s population are beginning to demand transparency and accountability from China’s cleantech sector. Will principled organizations like the Asian Development Bank follow their example?

r y, 2012

China’s leading waste-to-energy developer, China Everbright, has received more than US$200 million vis-a-vis Asian Development Bank’s commitment to funding companies with above average environmental goals. It’s a great idea on paper. However, flaccid environmental reporting standards in China and worrying trends in the incineration sector reveal a moral hazard in international institutions’ move to capitalize the private sector. Growing segments of China’s population are beginning to demand transparency and accountability from China’s cleantech sector. Will principled organizations like the Asian Development Bank follow their example?